Author: Ingrid Lochamire

I’ve invited a few of my friends to join me over at my new blog address to share Christmas memories. Stop by http://www.ingridsjourney.com to read a poignant story from my new “cyber-friend” Melissa. An out-of-the-ordinary Christmas became a bright spot in her childhood, and Melissa shares her thoughts on the true meaning of Christmas. When you stop by, please sign up to follow at the new address, and enjoy our new “home” on the Web. Advertisements

We have entered the most holy of seasons, a time of anticipation, celebration and recognition of Christ, the promised Messiah. Events and images of past Nativity seasons are stamped in my memory, like pictures on a Christmas card. Perhaps it is the same for you. A few friends will join me to share favorite Christmas memories over the next several weeks. They will be featured here on Mondays and Fridays, kind of like bookends to the busyness of the Christmas season. Their stories and mine are my Christmas gift to you. I know you will enjoy them, and I hope you will share some of your own stories with family and friends. The first sweet memory that comes to mind for me is wrapped in sensory cues that carry me back to Christmas eve in a little Catholic church in my hometown. Celebrating mass at midnight was as much a part of my childhood Christmases as candy canes, presents and trips to my grandparents’ house in Chicago. I loved the excitement of being awake so …

Who doesn’t regret something in their lives? You can’t be in this world, have any sort of history, and not have regret. Over choices you made. Or didn’t make. Over people you hurt. Or didn’t love enough. Over misunderstandings, missteps, mistakes. It’s tempting to hang onto the regret, to coddle the remorse we feel and believe that living with regret makes us a better person. Our life’s address could be The Land of Regret. I’ll just build a fence here and live safely with my regrets. But doing that might also fence out the possibilities. Lead women in studying Scripture? Oh, can’t do that. There was that season when I turned my back on God. Help a young mother overwhelmed by life? Not qualified. I didn’t always do it so well myself. Pray with a friend whose marriage is in trouble? Been there, failed and had to start again. Make a new friend and invite her into my world? I’ve lost friends because I couldn’t give enough. Take the hand of a child in danger …

I’m sharing my recent post “God Made a Farm Wife” today in the Ruby Blog at Ruby for Women. This great little website attempts to be “a voice for every Christian woman”, and I’d say they come pretty close. Ruby for Women is an online Christian women’s magazine, published quarterly, which features inspirational articles, devotionals, stories, poems, parenting and family life articles, book reviews, crafts, recipes, and so much more. Please hop on over to see the latest posts at http://rubyforwomen.com/blog/ or click on the button above.

Two events broke my heart over the weekend. On Saturday, as promised, 29-year-old Brittany Maynard ended her life before the cancer that was taking over her body could end it for her. And on Sunday, in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,000, college freshman Lauren Hill thumbed her nose at cancer to make two baskets in her first and last college basketball game. Both women faced a future they did not choose. Both have terminal brain cancer, a disease that wracks their bodies with pain and makes it difficult to even get up in the morning. It’s easy for me to see the heroism of Lauren’s choice. Sunday was her one and only game of college basketball. With just weeks to live, she fought to make it to that opening game (which was moved up two weeks so that she could play). In her remaining weeks, she plans to use the time she has left to raise awareness and fund research for childhood cancer with her campaign Layup 4 Lauren. To many, Brittany’s choice …

I don’t like endings, especially when the thing that’s ending has been so good. The closing lines of a book that’s stirred my soul, the final scene of a movie that has held me captive, the final days of a loved one’s visit, the good-byes at the end of a much-needed phone conversation, the last bite of lemon meringue pie. I could go on and on. But in life, I’ve learned that the end of one thing can often become the beginning of another. It’s like that with the challenge to “Write for 31 Days”. It’s been a wonderful growing experience for me, a true lesson in self-discipline. And along the way, I’ve made connections with some fellow writers that I hope to continue. I missed a couple of days here and there, but from the beginning, I gave myself permission to set aside the commitment if other, more important things demanded my time. And, they did. Writing every day for 31 days, spontaneously and without a real plan, then sharing it with whoever would take …

My “God-Spot” for Day 30 of Writing for 31 Days is my dear friend Betsy Tacchella. Betsy and I are of the same generation and sisters in Christ. She is a wonderful speaker, mentor, author and an inspiration to so many. She recently published her second book, “Speak to Me, Lord, I’m Listening.” It is a wonderful collection of biblical examples of God speaking a rhema word as well as Betsy’s stories of hearing God’s voice in her own life. Here, she answers my questions and shares an excerpt from her book. To read more posts from my 31 days of blogging, click on the button above. 1. What is your desire in writing this book? My desire in writing “Speak to Me, Lord, I’m Listening,” is to raise the reader’s awareness that God still speaks to us today just as He did throughout the Bible. Through more than fifty stories, you will recognize that you, too, have heard God’s voice of encouragement, comfort and direction. Have you ever had a Bible verse seem to pop off the …

There are events in life that just catch one unawares. And when they happen, we sometimes learn things about ourselves we didn’t expect. We’re still reeling from one of those events. They were just a couple of dogs. Family pets. They could be annoying and endearing and entertaining all at the same time. Lily was an older, low-to-the-ground beagle mix and Charlie was a spry, innocent shepherd mix who was still just a pup. They were great pals and partners in crime. Yesterday, their hunting expedition took them off the farm and into a nearby highway. In the blink of an eye, they were swept from our lives, struck and killed by a vehicle on a curve. A day later, we’re still not sure what hit us. Calls and texts to our four sons who live hours away were required, and each time it was a tough conversation. These two crazy dogs were part of our family. And today, there’s a gaping hole in our household. We feel incomplete. The dogs were my husband’s constant …

In the days when my life was filled with diapers, alphabet cards, math books, stinky boys’ gym socks and the never-ending question “what will I make for dinner?”…. When it felt like I’d never see the laundry room floor, never get to read that book waiting on the shelf or find a moment to paint my nails and talk on the phone with a friend…. In those halcyon days of young motherhood, these words dropped into my lap. “Do the next thing.” For a long time, I thought they were first said by a favorite author, Elisabeth Elliot. Elisabeth’s biography of Amy Carmichael “A Chance to Die” was pivotal in my growth as a woman of God. Her personal account of her marriage to her first husband, Jim, and his death on the mission field was one of those books I longed for time to read during busy mothering days. In researching Elisabeth for an essay awhile back, I learned that the words she often quoted came from a poem whose author is unknown. Those four …

My Day 27 post is a bit of a departure from my usual theme, but this young lady has been on my mind all day. So, I’m taking that as a “rhema” word from God telling me to pray for her. Today’s “God-Spot” in Write for 31 Days is Sadie Robertson. I thought twice before I dropped the magazine into my shopping cart. The 5 bucks it cost me canceled out any money I’d saved by shopping at the chain store, and besides that, I don’t normally waste my precious reading time on US Magazine. But when I saw the headline “Duck Daughter Tells All”, I had to buy it. Wedged in between an article about cheating teen moms and a photo of Kim Kardashian’s “bootie” was a sweet, relatively unbiased interview with Duck Dynasty daughter Sadie Robertson. (For those of you who haven’t a clue, Willie is her Dad, Phil’s her “Papaw” and Miss Kate is her grandmother, and they make duck calls in Louisiana. Love ’em!) As if this cute 17-year-old isn’t …